Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Downgraded by Summit Insights to “Hold”

Summit Insights cut shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports.

AMAT has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $563.00 to $538.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Twenty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $589.23.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $370.50 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $437.91 and its 200 day moving average is $446.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $294.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $203.40 and a 12-month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $10.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.37% and a net margin of 29.29%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.150-4.550 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 18.28 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wallace Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 60.0% in the third quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 608 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 118,937 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $60,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828 shares during the last quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the third quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 4,737 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Mayport LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the third quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 791 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 21.7% during the third quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 13,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,364 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Applied Materials News

These are some of the AMAT news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 revenue reached a record $10.41 billion, up 53% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS rose 92% to $4.16; both topped analysts’ estimates. The company also reported higher margins and returned $2.42 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. Applied Materials Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said demand is running ahead of supply, but component shortages and customers’ limited clean-room capacity may constrain how quickly equipment deliveries can scale. China is expected to account for less than a quarter of business in 2027, reducing reliance on that market even as export restrictions remain a risk. Applied Materials Says Chip Demand Remains Much Higher Than Supply
• Negative Sentiment: The strong quarter has not overcome weak sector sentiment: multiple analysts lowered price targets, citing valuation or semiconductor-equipment multiple compression, although most maintained Buy or Overweight ratings. A broader chip-stock sell-off and lingering concerns around AI-related trades have also weighed on the reaction. Analysts cut targets despite strong results

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.